New Zealand | New visa conditions for digital nomads

The New Zealand government announced relaxed visitor visa conditions for those who work for overseas employers while visiting New Zealand.

Key Points:

• The new visa conditions allow visitor visa recipients and people who enter with a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) to work remotely for an overseas employer or client.
• Effective Jan. 27, all visitors, including tourists and people visiting family as well as partners and guardians on longer-term visitor visas, will now be allowed to work remotely for an overseas employer or client.
• Strict limitations on undertaking productive work on a visitor visa were previously in effect.

Additional Information: Visitor visa holders are not able to work for a New Zealand employer, provide goods or services to people or businesses in New Zealand or do work that requires them to be physically present at a workplace in New Zealand.

Officials stated that these new conditions are designed to encourage tourists to stay longer in New Zealand and allow them to keep in touch with work in their home country without breaching their visa conditions as digital nomads. More information about this change and how it relates to the government’s economic growth priorities can be found here.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.

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